Web analytics and data topped the list, followed by social
media, and content marketing, indicating that there is already a
potential skills shortage in these areas.

When respondents were asked
which digital marketing disciplines they anticipated would be the key
areas of growth in the coming year, the top answers were social media,
content marketing, and web analytics and data.

The fact that those areas
of predicted growth in resourcing were the same as those that are
already listed as being the most difficult to recruit for means one
thing: a looming talent time bomb.

When I joined Econsultancy a little over a year ago, there were around 30 employees spread between our UK and US offices. Since then, the company has doubled in size, and we’re still expanding, with new staff joining our offices in London, New York, Dubai, Singapore, Australia and elsewhere.

Last year the company also celebrated its tenth anniversary, and we welcomed our 100,000th member in July. Nevertheless, it occurred to us that not everybody is familiar with all that we do...

Social gaming exploded last year. More consumers are now playing these sorts of games online, and brands (ranging from SMEs and local businesses to blue-chips and multinationals) are beginning to invest in this space.

The sector is now worth close to £1bn, and is expected to show further growth in 2011.

This post, which coincides with the launch of our Social Gaming Smart Pack, contains a brief overview of social gaming, why it's important, and how it can be used for marketing.

It probably won't come as a surprise that consumers don't trust advertising. But the numbers are pretty grim.

According to a report entitled Your Brand: At Risk or Ready for
Growth? sponsored by marketing solutions provider Alterian, the number
of consumers who don't trust advertising is disturbingly close to 100%.

With brands and marketing agencies building their own, or joining
existing, online spaces to exploit a growing social media audience, child
safety should always, without doubt, be the number one priority for
those managing social media projects.

Tempero MD Dominic Sparkes worked with Econsultancy on the recently released Child Protection Best Practice Guide, which looks at the legal and ethical considerations for brands and companies operating in this area.

We asked him about the issues involved in child safety online in general, and setting up and managing online communities for children...

A lack of measurement is still an issue for many email marketing campaigns, with almost half of companies failing to track their ROI from email.

Econsultancy's third annual Email Marketing Industry Census, sponsored by Adestra, found that 42% of organisations did not know what their ROI was from their email efforts, despite its proven effectiveness.